As Lions’ season slips away, coach’s decisions dissected

ALLEN PARK, Mich. — Over their last three home games, the Detroit Lions have been good enough to be ahead of some of the NFL’s better teams — Green Bay, Houston and Indianapolis — with less than two minutes to go.

They lost every one of those games, leaving the Lions with twice as many losses as wins with four games left — including Sunday night at Green Bay — and putting coach Jim Schwartz’s decisions squarely in the spotlight.

“After every game, we go through the whole game plan and what we’d do different if we had a chance again,” Schwartz said Thursday. “We’re very self-critical.

“You just live with decisions,” he added. “You’re always critical, you’re always analytical, trying to see where you can do better — whether you’re a coach or a player — but you can’t lose confidence in your abilities whether you’re a player or a coach.”

Schwartz infamously made one big mistake, challenging a Texans touchdown that would’ve likely been overturned if he didn’t lose his cool, and his co-ordinators have made some calls that didn’t work out during three straight setbacks by a combined nine points.

Schwartz owned up to the Texans gaffe, saying he “overreacted” and cost his team a touchdown.

“Yeah, he threw the challenge flag, but I think a lot of coaches would’ve in the same situation because the guy was down,” Lions guard Rob Sims said.

Schwartz, a former Tennessee Titans defensive co-ordinator and first-time head coach, lets Scott Linehan call plays on offence and Gunther Cunningham set up schemes on defence without telling them what they should do during any given possession. Schwartz seemed to make all the right moves last year when the Lions won 10 games for the first time since 1995 and snapped their 11-season post-season drought.

The Lions (4-8) have fallen short of expectations in large part because they have blown legitimate chances to have a 7-5 record, one that would give the franchise a shot to make two straight playoff appearances for the first time since the mid-1990s.